Blogging since 4-27-08. This is my journal. A place to share bits of me, my family and life and other things of interest to me, and I hope to you. A place to meet new friends and bond with old. A place to share my thoughts and projects in sewing, beading and needlework. It only takes a moment to say hello!

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Thursday, September 14, 2017

I have a blog friend, Janine. I love visits to her blog and the emails that usually follow. She has been part of a group that create an art quilt every quarter that they design from a prompt. The group will disband at the end of the year, so Janine and another member of the group are starting a new group..The Endeavourers. If you think you might be interested, please go here to read about it, and sign up!

I am TERRIBLE with sewing dead lines, so I will strive to create my piece as soon as I get the prompt without procrastination. I'll be working on two issues I have at the same time. Making time for myself to sew and my tendency to procrastinate.

Even if you are not interested in participating, please feel free to share a link to Janine's post. The more the merrier.

Today, I am grateful for my ability to remain mobile as I get older. And Coffee. Lots of Coffee.

Let me know if you are interested in the group. Do you drink coffee or tea?
xx, Carol

Saturday, September 9, 2017

A few posts ago, I teased you with a picture of a new pup. Well, honestly, he is not MY pup. He belongs to Corey and his girlfriend. He is Harley..yes..not to originally named for the bike they own. He is a Min-Pin which is short for Miniature Doberman Pinscher. He weighs about 10 pounds and Boscoe has taken charge of him. I call him Boscoe's Barbie. Tyson likes him, but does not PLAY with him much. Boscoe and Harley go non stop, with Harley making sounds that I say sound like the Tasmanian Devil. He loves to go to the pond area and explore. The big dogs are not allowed there, but Harley can fit through the slats in the gate so he takes great pride in going in and out. Harley likes to sleep on our bed with his head on Terry. We have never in our life had a small dog except for puppies that grew into BIG...VERY big dogs.

Here is a picture of Harley laying next to Boscoe so you can get an idea of the difference in their size. They are both Alpha dogs and their personalities are so much alike. It's hard to believe that Boscoe, who has always ruled Tyson, defers to the little dog. They have learned to play together and Boscoe never gets too rough with the pup. Their favorite game it...Harley steal the toy and run behind the chair and peek out to see if Boscoe followed then come out on the other side of the chair. ALL DAY LONG. It's pure entertainment and keeps us laughing.

This is Corey and his girlfriend Alyssa. We thought that Corey was going to move to Idaho. I guess it was one of those "nice place to visit, but don't want to live there" places.

Corey should live in a more liberal state. It has been reported that Indiana is THE most conservative state in the USA. I'm telling you, if he moves west, we are ready to go to. Plus, Terry and Corey miss each other too much when they are apart.

And THIS is Nic, Alyssa's son.

He is a great kid with a lot of personality and energy. He just started school and these pics are from his first day and the first day he rode the bus. He's a ham and reminds me of how Kyle was when he was young...always cutting up for the camera. I've heard him say "Take my picture" several times, lol.

Anyway, for the time being the nest is not empty anymore, and I can truly say that we are happy about that. I've always told Corey that when he least expected it, he would meet a girl that would appreciate him and love him the way he deserves. I just might be RIGHT!!

Today I am grateful for Nic and Alyssa, who make Corey, Terry and me Happy. AND I am grateful for Harley who makes Boscoe happy!!

I can't close without asking you to say another prayer for those in Florida, Texas and the west where storms are reeking havoc and fires are disastrous as well. Alyssa is of Cuban decent and all of her family is in Miami or Cuba which compels us even more to watch these horrendous disasters.

Do you have an empty nest? If so, are you lonely, or relieved? Do you have family in the disaster zones? Are they safe. Alyssa's didn't evacuate. Do you know someone that didn't?

Saturday, September 2, 2017

Mishawaka is a city that borders South Bend. When I moved to this area it was a busy manufacturing area, full of union shops. One factory, Ball Band, was located on the St. Joseph River. It made rubber things including tennis shoes similar if not the same, Keds. I'm not sure when the factory opened, or when it closed, but it sat empty and unused for many years. Sometime along the way, the cities near here paid high bucks for a study on how they could make this area a more desirable place to live. All reports advised that the cities should make the most of their access to the river that runs through South Bend, Mishawaka and Elkhart and more towns along it's path from where it starts in Michigan. Long before the study, in 1981 Mishawaka started a fish hatchery to supply baby trout and salmon to the River. All along the river path fish ladders were built and the St. Joseph River is one of the best places to fish for Salmon.

Mishawaka made good use of the advice given in the study. They took down the Ball Band plant. The implosion and resounding booms were heard all up and down the river. It was a pretty impressive event. The city built a really nice park where the factory once stood. They created a river walk on both sides of the river all through most of the city. You can now walk along the river all the way to down town South Bend. The pictures above show one of the fish ladders. The third picture is not of a rock, but a Mallard Duck who apparently can't read the sign that says "No Fishing Within 100 Feet of the Fish Ladder". The 4th pic shows a well used fishing spot.

The area includes tennis courts, a wonderful children's playground, and clean restrooms. There are many talented wood carvers in our area, both by hand and by chain saw. I'm not sure which artist created these totems from tree trunks, but you can see their work through out our local towns.

Belgian and Italian flags fly throughout the park honoring the rich heritage of the immigrants that settled here and helped to build the towns into what they are today.

Recently a couple of large condo/apartment complexes have been build in this area and another developer has expressed interest in building another. Apparently there is a huge Millennial interest in living here and the River Walk and park area was mentioned as one of the reasons the area is so appealing. Though the area is not so hugely dependent on manufacturing as it once was, there are many national corporate offices here. We have excellent medical facilities and several colleges including Notre Dame supply many jobs.

Terry and I had never been to the River Walk area, though our grand kids go their often. we needed to take our car in for service to a shop located a few blocks from the Riverwalk. Though the work would take about 3 hours, we decided to leave the car and walk to a little cafe for breakfast. OMGosh, they had a TV on with Gunsmoke playing. Terry was right at home. When we left, we walked over to see the River Walk and sauntered through about 8 blocks of it. Terry spent a lot of time mentioning a building that used to be here or there. It was such an enjoyable morning. But by the time we got back to the repair shop, Terry was totally beat and glad to have a seat on the seat the shop owner had made from a bench front seat from an old car.

Here is Terry, it was a windy day and his hair is a mess. Gosh, I LOVE this guy!

Today, I am grateful for Terry and a Great Mechanic!!

Have you recently discovered a place you knew about, but never visited? Were you as impressed as I was?

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About Me

Hi!! I'm Carol. I live in Northern Indiana, USA. I have been married forever to the most wonderfully considerate man there is. I love my home and garden and all the critters that come to visit us there.
My blog is an eclectic collection of posts about what I love and other "stuff".